Jiāng Chényīng 姜宸英 (1628–1699), zì Xīmíng 西溟, hào Zhànyuán 湛園 (“Pure-Garden”), of Cíxī 慈谿 (Níngbō prefecture, Zhèjiāng). CBDB id 33182; lifedates firm. Note: the catalog meta gives 1628–1699 which agrees with CBDB.
One of the most celebrated gǔwén (ancient-style prose) writers of the early Qīng, in the Tóngchéng preparation line — third after 汪琬 Wāng Wǎn and 侯方域 Hóu Fāngyù in the Sìkù’s implicit succession-list of gǔwén revivalists. Personally famous for jièjié (introverted-and-stiff) integrity and refusal of biāobǎng (factional self-advertisement). Failed the examinations eleven times before finally passing the jìnshì in Kāngxī 36 (1697, dīngchǒu) at the age of 70 suì — the latest first-degree-holder of the high-Kāngxī period.
His career was short: appointed Hànlín biānxiū, dispatched to Sūzhōu in 1699 as a xuézhèng examiner, became embroiled in the Sūzhōu shùntiān fǔ kēcháng àn 順天府科場案 examination scandal (in which he was framed by 徐元文’s clique — the matter is complex; some sources say Jiāng was a victim of factional politics, others that he was actually responsible), and died in prison in 1699. The death just two years after his jìnshì attainment is one of the most tragic late-Kāngxī court incidents.
Author of the Zhànyuán jí 湛園集 (KR4f0037) in 8 juan (the gǔwén corpus) plus the Zhànyuán zhá jì 湛園札記 in 2 juan (separately catalogued in the Sìkù zǐbù). The collection was preliminarily edited by Jiāng himself in his lifetime under the title Zhànyuán wèidìng gǎo 湛園未定稿 (with prefaces by Qín Sōnglíng 秦松齡 and Hán Tān 韓菼) and re-edited by his Cíxī townsman 黃叔琳 Huáng Shūlín for the final 8-juan recension.